Unconditonally
by Flawed But Beautiful
Summary: Sarah Burkett finds herself in a new school, and in the midst of the Marauders. What happens when she finds herself falling for one Remus Lupin?
1. New Beginings

**Ok guys, bear with me on this one. I haven't written in a while but I've had this idea brewing in my head for a while now. I'm going to write the disclaimer here in the first chapter only so: JK Rowling owns all the Harry Potter characters you see in this story.**

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Sarah opened her eyes to be blinded by the sun coming in through her bedroom window. Groaning with frustration she rolled over, covering her head with the pillow. After laying in the comfort of her bed for an hour she realized how pointless it was to try and fall asleep again. She sat up and slowly swung her legs over the side, stretching and yawning. She glanced over at the calendar on the wall, it was September first. Today was the day she would be starting at her new school, Hogwarts. She was a sixth year who just moved from her home in North Carolina to England. Her father was an auror, and the Ministry of Magic had summoned all the available aurors across the United States asking for help in war against Voldemort. She jumped out of bed, showered and dressed quickly. Looking over at her clock she realized it was only 9:30. She picked up one the handles to her trunk and began dragging it down the stairs to the living room. She entered the kitchen and was surprised to see her dad sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet and drinking his usual cup of coffee.

"Good morning Sarah," he greeted her with a smile, "Sleep well last night?"

"I guess," she replied as she placed a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster. "I'm surprised to see you up this early. I didn't hear you come in last night."

Her dad sighed and placed the paper on the table in front of him. "Well, I thought I might see you off on your first day of school." Sarah smiled to herself as the spread butter on her toast. Her father was so busy these days she almost forgot what it was like when he was home. She was shocked to see how old his face seemed to look, the lines from stress and bags under his eyes from lack of sleep made him appear much older than he actually was. She was very close with him, ever since her mother had died when she was 9. No matter how busy he was, he always made time for her when it came to things like starting in a new school.

"Thanks," she mumbled as she took her seat across from him.

"Are you nervous?" he asked, shooting her a quizzical look. She nodded her head slowly and nibbled on her toast. The next half hour was spent discussing what the school might be like and what she should do upon first arriving. Shortly after that her dad was rushing her out the front door to his car, and they headed to the train station. After loading her trunk onto a cart her and her dad strode over to the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Pretending to be fixing the back of her shoe Sarah leaned against the barrier for support and instantly Platform 9 ¾ materialized in front of her. The platform was full of young wizards and witches saying their good byes to parents and relatives.

"You might want to hurry and find a seat Sarah, before everything fills up," her dad said. She looked at him and nodded, hugging him and saying her goodbyes. She pushed her way through the crowd to the train. Dragging her trunk past compartments full of students chatting about their summer vacations. She found an empty one and stuffed her trunk up above the seats. She sat down and stared out the window, sounds of laughter could be heard from the compartments surrounding her. She was beginning to feel extremely nervous. How was she supposed to fit in when she was barely starting and those around her had been together for their entire school career? She watched the platform empty and more students rush aboard the train, it was like watching a silent movie she thought to herself. Just then the compartment door slid open and boy who looked about Sarah's age was standing there.

"Oh," he said, clearly surprised, "usually this one's empty." Sarah suddenly grew red. She had taken someone else's compartment, someone who had obviously been going to this school longer than her.

"Sorry, I'll just find somewhere else then." She muttered and started to get up.

"No, it's fine." The boy said with a warm smile, "You can stay; we don't mind meeting new people." Sarah sat back down and examined the boy closer. He was on the thin side, but he was rather tall so she guessed thinness was to be expected. His hair was raven black and stuck out in every direction, she wondered if he had ever bothered to brush it. The boy put his trunk away and sat across from her, "Name's Potter. James Potter," he said cheerfully sticking out his hand.

"Sarah Burkett," she told him shaking his hand lightly. At this moment the door opened again. Three more boys entered and began putting their things away. "I'm assuming this is who you were referring to when you said 'we'?" she asked James. The three stopped what they were doing, surprised, as James was, to see someone new among their presence. She took them in one by one. The boy closest to the door was rather short and stout. He had beady eyes and a long pointed nose, he reminded Sarah very much of a rat. His movements and body language told Sarah that he was timid and easily shaken. The boy that was now sitting next to James was quite a looker. He had long black hair that suited him well. Sarah noticed how his eyes were an amazing mix of grey and blue. He sat there acting as if he was tired of the routine of the start of school. Sarah knew that he was someone of good spirits, and someone that she would want to keep around. Her eyes came to rest on the last boy that had entered. He was standing next to her and she couldn't help but noticed he smelled really good. He too was on the thin side; but his body looked worn and tired compared to James. His hair was the color of sand and his eyes the most beautiful color amber she had ever seen. His face looked very tired as well, but it was mesmerizing to Sarah. She had to tear her eyes away before her jaw dropped.

"Everyone, this is Sarah Burkett," James said to his friends. "Sarah that's Peter Pettigrew," he pointed over to the boy nearest the door. "This is Sirius Black," he motioned to the boy sitting next to him. "And that's Remus Lupin," he nodded to the boy sitting next to Sarah. She smiled and nodded to all of them. She caught eyes with Remus and looked away quickly. Everything outside the window was moving, she hadn't even noticed that the train had started.

"I don't think I've seen you around Hogwarts Sarah," Sirius said nonchalantly.

"That's because I just transferred from America," she told him. "My father was asked to help with the war effort here. So we packed up and I was told I was going to start my sixth year at Hogwarts."

"That's wonderful! We're sixth years too!" Sirius exclaimed. His smile seemed to lift a huge weight that had been pressing down on Sarah's chest. They were her age and she was talking to them, becoming friends with them. The train ride continued with conversation about random things, Sarah was delighted to find that she and Remus had read a lot of the same books. The others looked at them as if they were mental and began their own conversation. Sarah was so wrapped up in what Remus was saying she had almost forgotten about the other three. It wasn't until James mentioned something about quidditch that she remembered they were sitting in the same compartment. He was telling Sirius about the upcoming try outs and what he might do to impress the new captain. "You've been on that team since third year, what do you need to impress Angela for?" Sirius was telling him.

"You guys are having try outs?" Sarah asked instantly. James nodded and Sirius looked at her as if she had sprouted antlers. "Are you looking for a new beater?" she could hardly hold back her excitement.

"Don't tell me you play," Sirius said incredulously. Sarah nodded and his mouth literally fell open. "But quidditch is a rough sport. Not saying that girls don't play but usually they're chasers or the seeker. I don't think I've ever met one that's a beater."

"It may be rough but I'm not made of glass. I can play with the big boys," Sarah replied smirking. Out the corner of her eye she saw Remus silently chuckling to himself. Peter was looking at her as if she was God and Sirius was clearly lost for words.

"She reads and she plays quidditch, we have to watch out for this one," James said winking at Sarah. The rest of the trip was full of quidditch talk. Both James and Sarah relived their best moments during past games and shared horror stories of all sorts of painful injuries. Sarah was growing very fond of this company. Soon the train began slowing down and they all decided that it would be best to change into their robes before arriving at the school. Sarah opened her trunk and as she was pulling out her robes she thought that maybe this new school wasn't going to be that bad with friends like these.


	2. The First Sparks

As they left the train Sarah bid the others farewell and made her way over to a man who was no less than eight feet tall. He instructed her to go down to the black lake and wait there with the first years. When reached the lake the first years were staring at her as if she was the one that was eight feet tall. They made their way across the lake in the boats that seemed to glide effortlessly across the surface. The students in Sarah's boat kept their distance, as if she carried some disease. When they reached the castle the group was greeted by an older looking witch who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall.

"In a couple of moments you will follow me into the Great Hall were you will be sorted into one of the four houses." She paused as a soft murmur broke out between the first years. "We will of course start with Ms. Burkett, seeing as she is a transfer student. Now when you walk in you will sit on the stool and place the Sorting Hat on your head." With this piece of information Sarah realized that she hadn't found out what house James, Sirius, Peter and Remus were in. She crossed her fingers and said a silent prayer hoping to be placed in the same house. She followed Professor McGonagall into the Great Hall and down the aisle between two of the four tables that were full of chatting students. She looked around and saw her four friends all sitting at the same table. She smiled at them and saw Sirius mouth the word 'Gryffindor'. Sarah now knew what house she wanted to join.

The mass of newcomers stopped in front of a wooden stool and stared at Professor McGonagall as she unrolled a piece of parchment and read "Burkett, Sarah!" Sarah stepped up and sat on the stool, crossing her fingers in her robes. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head and within 5 minutes the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" A table wearing red and gold burst into applause, Sirius and James being the loudest by far. Sarah walked over to them beaming, it wasn't long before she found herself being tackled by Sirius, followed by James who seemed like he was going to crush her. She even hugged Peter, who seemed to be near fainting when she let go. She turned to Remus and he embraced her, but this was different than the other three. His hug was warm and welcoming, Sarah felt as if she was safe right here in his arms. She didn't know how long they had stood there in each others embrace, but when they final split she caught James' eye and he gave her a questioning look.

She smiled and took her seat next Sirius and began enjoying her new company as the first years were being sorted. The feast came and went and Sarah found herself following the crowd out of the hall and towards the Gryffindor tower. She made sure to keep and eye on James and Sirius who were leading the way, but she hung back far enough to walk next to Remus.

"Do you get a lot of transfer students?" she asked him.

"No, not really," he replied. He smiled at her and Sarah's stomach did a somersault. She looked away and ignored the feeling, it was only the first day, and she didn't need to fall for the first guy that was being nice to her. When she entered the common room she noticed how comfortable it seemed. She followed the four boys over to a corner where three chairs were placed, Sirius and James took two of them as Sarah and Remus headed for the third one.

They both realized it and Sarah took a step back, "No you go ahead and take it," Remus gestured. Sarah shot him a look that said _'Are you sure?'_ Remus smiled and nodded toward the chair and said, "I don't mind the floor." Sarah smiled and sat down while Remus took his place on the floor. Together they began looking over their class schedule for the next day. The five of them began switching schedules to see which classes they had in common when Sarah realized her and Remus had almost all of the same classes. She glanced over at him and hoped that this would give her a chance to get to know him better.

"Arithmancy?" Sirius asked looking up at Sarah. "Are you insane taking N.E.W.T. level Arithmancy? That's got to be really hard, only someone like Remus would take that class." He handed her back her schedule and took his from James.

"I happen to be quite good at Arithmancy, thank you very much." Sarah said.

"Arithmancy is actually very easy once you get past all the complicated equations and theories," Remus looked at Sarah and gave a wink. It wasn't long before the common room emptied and the boys said goodnight to Sarah, who headed to the girls dormitories. Weeks passed since the beginning of school and Sarah was finally getting used to the halls of Hogwarts. She now spent all of her free time with the four Marauders, a nickname the entire castle used for the four trouble makers. She had tried out for the house quidditch team and made it, this seemed to boost her status among her fellow Gryffindors. Yes, Sarah was fitting in perfectly.

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Sarah walked through the portrait one day to see Remus sitting at a table in the corner of the common room. She walked over and sat beside him. She looked at the paper he was working on and sighed, "That potions essay was torture. I just barely finished mine yesterday." Remus put down his quill and ran his hands through his hair with frustration. Sarah didn't like it when he was stressed. It made the lines in his young face seem more defined. 

"I can't believe how complicated this potion is," Remus said with a heavy sigh. "I've been working on it for the last hour and haven't even gotten past the first paragraph." He pushed the essay away from him and put his feet up on the table, leaning back in the chair. "Just take your time, you'll get through it." Sarah said squeezing his hand reassuringly.

Remus caught her eye and flashed her one of his award winning smiles. Sarah leaned forward and picked up the potions book he had pushed away. She skimmed over the pages and let out a low whistle. "Veritaserum? I thought the teacher's pet is supposed to get the easy assignments." She closed the book and threw onto the table where it landed with a resounding thud.

"I am not, nor will I ever be, Slughorn's pet." Remus said. "Lily Evans has that position filled."

"I like Lily," Sarah said thoughtfully, "she's very… spunky." Remus raised an eyebrow. "What?" she asked. "_Spunky?_ Out of all the words in the English language, you choose 'spunky'?" he asks incredulously. Sarah shrugged and slouched down in her seat, "It's the word that fits her, just like lackluster is the word that fits you," she teased. Remus looked at her in mock horror, "Lackluster? Well if I'm lackluster then that makes you juvenile!" Sarah sat up and punched him in the arm playfully.

Before she knew it Sarah found herself pinned between the floor and Remus, who was attacking her sides, tickling her to no end. Sarah was laughing and gasping for breath, trying desperately to push Remus off. "Who's juvenile now?" she managed to get out in between bursts of laughter. Remus succeeded in grabbing her wrists and pinning them above her head, as she continued to laugh. "Ok," She said after she had caught her breath, "So you're not lackluster. You're… entertaining." Remus smiled down at her and opened his mouth to say something when the portrait hole opened.

Both their heads turned to watch James, Sirius and Peter make their way into the common room. James and Sirius were lost in deep conversation with Peter following in their wake nodding in agreement. James and Sirius stopped dead in their tracks, causing poor Peter to run into them, they stared in a bemused sort of way at Sarah and Remus. Remus stood up quickly, Sarah following his lead. She looked at Remus then at the other three, smiled weakly and headed for the girls dormitories.

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**Ok I know there's nothing extremely exciting happening yet, but I promise it's getting there! The rating is going to change eventually. Reviews would be lovely.**


	3. Girl Talk

Sarah found herself walking into the Great Hall alone for breakfast the next day. She took her place at the Gryffindor table between Sirius and Peter. She was piling eggs on her plate when she heard Sirius clear his throat. "Something wrong Sirius?" she said, looking up at him. "Remus said you were helping him with his potions essay yesterday," he said coolly. "Yeah," she replied, "is there something wrong with that?" Sirius shrugged and looked interested in his glass of pumpkin juice, smirking, "If that's how you help people, I wouldn't mind some." Sarah made a noise of protest and hit him on his arm. "I'm joking Burkett!" Sirius said chuckling.

At that moment James and Remus sat across from the trio, Remus smiled at Sarah then glanced nervously at James. Sarah jumped a little when James started piling his plate with food almost violently. He began mumbling to himself and Sarah caught "Thinks she's so perfect… charming as a hippogriff am I? Well, she's just as sweet as a grindylow…" She looked at the others then back at James and spoke, "James is there something wrong?" James snorted and began stabbing his eggs with his fork. Sarah looked at Remus for help. "He tried asking Lily out again," Remus said in a hushed tone. Peter and Sirius sighed while Sarah looked skeptical.

"Don't worry," Sirius told her as he continued eating, "this is just the first of many attempts that will occur throughout the year." Sarah still couldn't help but worry. "He'll be fine by lunch," Peter said, "he's been asking her for the past five years and she always says no."

Sarah sighed, signaling defeat and glanced down the table at the rest of her house. She saw Lily Evans sitting next to a fragile looking brunette, Lily was obviously upset as well, the brunette whispering what Sarah assumed were words of comfort. She shook her head and ate her breakfast.

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The five friends were entering potions when Sarah had made up her mind. "You guys go ahead. I'm going to sit somewhere else today," she told them. Sirius and James took their usual table in the back while Remus followed Peter to an empty table. Sarah made her way to the front of the class where a girl with shoulder length red hair sat. "Is this seat taken?" she asked. Lily looked up, her expression half surprised, half annoyed. "Oh, I thought you were Potter. No, that seat's empty." She said. Sarah sat and smiled, extending her hand, "I'm Sarah." Lily took her hand, "Lily."

The two girls sat there in an awkward silence for a few minutes. Sarah glanced to the back of the room to find James gaping at her, she smiled and winked at him. "So Lily, why did you think it was Potter?" Lily sneered and said, "He keeps bugging me, begging me to go on a date with him." She too turned to look back at James and Sirius who were in the middle of zooming paper planes around some Slytherin girls. She faced the front again, scowling. "You don't like him?" Sarah questioned. Lily looked at her incredulously, "James Potter is the most arrogant person I have ever met. I would rather marry a ghoul with the chicken pox than go out with him." Sarah shrugged, although she liked James she had to admit that Lily had a point, James could be arrogant.

Potions came and went, Sarah found out that Lily was extremely gifted in the art of potion making. When the class ended Sarah sprinted out of the room to catch up with Lily, ignoring Sirius calling her name. "Lily!" she called after her. Lily stopped and turned. "Hey I know that we don't really know each other that well, but I was thinking that maybe you could help me with that essay Slughorn gave?" Lily contemplated this and then glared at something over Sarah's shoulder. Sarah turned to see the Marauders waiting for her, James smiling and running a hand through his hair. Sarah turned back to Lily, "I promise they won't come." Lily smiled and nodded, "Ok, I'll meet you in library tomorrow." With that she walked off to meet up with the same fragile brunette she was with at breakfast.

Sarah headed over to the boys, "What was that about?" Remus asked. "Just girl talk," Sarah said, laughing softly. "So how bad does she want me?" James asked eagerly. Sarah looked up at him, "To use her exact words, she would 'rather marry a ghoul with the chicken pox'." James just smiled brightly as they headed to lunch.

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Sarah opened her eyes in the darkness; she could have sworn she just heard a howl. She sat up and looked around, all the other girls were sleeping, was she the only one who heard it? She got out of bed and crossed to the window, her ears were ringing with the echoes of the sound, she knew she hadn't imagined it. She stood at the window for minutes, but finally came to the conclusion that there were no four legged beasts running around. She sighed and returned to her bed.

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Remus was missing at breakfast that morning, when she asked Sirius about it he mumbled something about Remus feeling ill. Sarah took his word for it and continued her day. When Remus didn't show up in any of her classes she began worrying again. This time she asked James who simply said "He must have stayed in bed all day." Sarah wasn't completely reassured but didn't have time to question him since she had to meet Lily in the library.

"Sarah!" Lily snapped, "Please try and focus here. I asked what the five main ingredients are." This was one of the countless times Sarah had stared at the far wall of the library, chewing on the end of her quill. She started and began flipping pages in the book in front of her, "Yeah… right… sorry." Lily looked at her, "What's got you so distracted today?" Sarah sighed and looked up at Lily who was giving her a worried look.

"It's just Remus," Sarah began, "I haven't seen him at all today, and it's just odd." Lily let out a little gasp, "You don't know?" she said. Sarah looked at her curiously. "He's in the hospital wing. I saw him there earlier when I had to bring—Hey where are you going?" Lily shouted after Sarah, who had gathered up her bag and ran out of the library.

Sarah reached the doors to the infirmary and swung them open, scanning the room. She spotted Remus lying in a bed in the far corner. She ran over and sat down in the chair beside his bed. He looked unnaturally pale and had numerous cuts and scrapes on his face and arms. Remus was staring at her, unable to say anything due to the shock of her entrance. "What… Who… How… What happened?" Sarah stuttered. Remus gave a small smile and said, "A marauders midnight adventure gone awry." Sarah looked at him in disbelief, what were they doing that caused Remus to end up in a bed in the hospital wing? "Why didn't James and Sirius tell me you were here?! I heard from Lily and I came as soon as heard. I kind of just left Lily in the library, but I'm sure she'll understand. She'd do the same right? Anyway I'll apologize tomorrow, and I'm going to kill James…" Remus held up a hand to silence her rambling.

"James and Sirius didn't tell you because I asked them not to," he told her calmly. Sarah gave him look of hurt and anger. He smiled and said "To be honest I don't like to see pretty girls like you worry about me." She opened her mouth to say something but blushed at his comment and stared at her hands. Remus reached over and took one in his and they sat in a comfortable silence until Madame Pomfrey came and ushered her out.

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**Ok, I meant to have this posted yesterday, but I got in late. Hope you guys like it!! Chp 4 coming soon:) Thanks to those who reviewed.**


	4. Warnings

**Ok I know this one's really long, but I was on a roll and couldn't stop.**

**That's also why I'm posting this at 2 in the morning. :)**

**Enjoy.**

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Remus was out of Madame Pomfrey's hands two days after Sarah had visited. They had planned on throwing him a party celebrating his recovery, but Sarah and James found themselves stuck in quidditch practice almost every evening. Their first match was approaching and since it was against Slytherin, not only were the Gryffindors expecting a win, but Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff as well.

One evening James and Sarah returned to the common room after a very tiring practice. Angela had felt that it was necessary to run the drills over and over again. The two headed to the couch in front of the fireplace where the rest of the Marauders were sitting, Sirius and Remus on opposite ends of the couch, Peter on the floor working on the table. James threw his things onto the floor and collapsed in an empty armchair with a heavy sigh. "Was it that horrible Prongs?" Sirius asked, smirking. "You have no idea," he groaned in reply.

Sarah sat on the couch, stretching her legs out behind Remus and leaning back into Sirius. Sirius went to put his arm around her when he caught Remus shooting him a look of warning. Sirius retracted his arm quickly and picked up a magazine on the table, all this went unnoticed by Sarah who had closed her eyes. She heard voices around her but wasn't really paying attention to what was being said. Her mind was set on taking a shower and curling up underneath the warm blankets of her bed and reading the letter she had received from her father before practice.

Sarah's eyes opened and she sat up quickly, almost knocking Remus off of the couch. "Crap," she said standing up and heading towards the portrait hole. "What's up?" James called after her. "Just forgot something in the locker room," she replied opening the portrait, "I'll be back." She exited the common room and hurried toward the entrance hall. It figures, the one thing she was dying to do was read that letter and she completely forgot about it. She decided to take a shortcut, that was one of the perks of knowing the marauders, you learned how to cut your travel time in half. She turned a corner and noticed that this corridor was dimmer than usual; she paused and stared into the dark shadows. She hesitated and almost turned back to go a different way, she decided against it, curfew was almost up and she needed to get there and back as quick as possible.

She began slowly walking into the darkness. She was almost to the end of the hall when she heard a movement behind her. She turned and reached instinctively into her pocket for her wand, only to discover that it was empty. Sarah began breathing faster; it must have fallen out when she got up in the common room. She didn't like this feeling, she felt naked, exposed, she didn't have any protection against the shadows that suddenly seemed to be creeping in on her. She looked around nervously, groping hopelessly in her empty pocket, as if her wand would just appear. "What a shame, you should know better than to go anywhere without your wand," said one of the shadows. Sarah was frozen on the spot, all of her muscles seemed to stop working. Her mind screamed '**RUN!**', but she couldn't will herself to move. "Who's there?" she asked, willing her voice not to shake.

She watched in horror as a tall figure emerged in front of her. It was a girl, a silver and green head girl pin on her cloak told Sarah that she was a seventh year. She had tanned skin with long black hair that fell to her shoulders, her heavily lidded eyes made Sarah shrink back a little. Sarah noticed a smaller boy standing beside her, he was pale with black, greasy hair that framed his face. Sarah recognized the hooked nose of none other than Severus Snape, she knew that marauders, particularly James and Sirius, loved to torment him. She chose to never partake in those pranks, he hadn't done anything to her personally so she refused to mess with him.

The three students stared at each other for a few moments before Sarah decided that she didn't like being in a dimly lit corridor with Snape and one of his friends. She turned and had every intention of running but found two tall, muscular Slytherins blocking her path. "Trying to go somewhere?" the tall girl said. Her voice washed over Sarah like a bucket of ice water. Sarah turned around to face the head girl, her eyes scanned the space around her desperately. "Oh, you won't find a way out," the girl said in her deep, menacing voice. Snape was smirking behind her back, he had an evil glint in his eyes. "Are you sure this is the one Severus?" she asked him. Snape nodded and looked almost excited. Sarah was starting to panic, what was going on? She straightened to her full height, which wasn't much help, she barely reached the girl's shoulder. "Who are you?" she asked the mystery Slytherin.

"My cousin hasn't mentioned me?" She asked, taking a step closer. "That's not surprising, but I must admit a little disappointing." She said with a smirk. Sarah clenched her fists to stop them from shaking, she refused to let the others see her fear. "I'm Bellatrix," said the girl, "You're the one that's always with Sirius and his little friends." Sarah couldn't help but let a small gasp escape her lips. Sirius was warm and caring, Sarah considered him something like a big brother; how could someone as cold and intimidating as her be related to him? "What do you want?" Sarah said.

"I want to discuss something that occurred between my cousin and Severus a few days ago," Bellatrix said calmly. Sarah knew exactly what she was talking about. James and Sirius had pulled a prank that day, "I don't know anything about that," Sarah replied. Bellatrix laughed a deep throaty laugh, Sarah shivered involuntarily. She was telling the truth, James and Sirius had returned to the common room looking pleased with themselves and Sarah had no desire to find out what they had done. "Of course you don't," Bellatrix sneered. Sarah looked around again, how long had she been gone? '_Maybe someone will come looking for me_' she thought hopefully. "You see I don't appreciate when my cousin and his cronies take it upon themselves to mess with one of my friends." Bellatrix continued, "Do you know what happens when they do Sarah?" Sarah watched in shock as Bellatrix began twirling her wand between her fingers. '_How does she know my name?_' Sarah thought. Again her eyes searched around her, she saw just enough space between the two Slytherin boys for a small person to fit through.

"What happens?" Sarah asked, stepping backwards toward the two. Bellatrix's eyes flashed with amusement before she replied, "I get even." Sarah turned quickly and sprinted to the space that meant freedom. She had almost gotten completely past the two guards when she felt her feet fall out from beneath her and she was sliding towards Bellatrix. Sarah stretched out her arms, grabbing anything she could get her hands on to stop her from moving. She stopped at Bellatrix's feet and looked up at the older girl. Sarah saw her raise her wand and then a bright light; it felt as if a bat and just connected with her right cheek, Sarah had to blink a few times to get her eyesight back into focus. She came back just as another blow hit her from the opposite direction. Sarah scrambled to her feet and ran to the nearest wall, she felt cornered, she had nowhere to go and nothing to protect herself with. She saw another flash of white and felt the same sensation hitting her in the stomach. She fell to her knees with the wind knocked out of her, she could hear footsteps around her, but couldn't see anything. She reached out with her hands desperately looking for anything to use in her defense, just then a hand grabbed her shirt and lifted her up violently. Sarah swung her fist and felt in connect with the side of a head. Judging from the strangled yell it was one of the two muscular boys.

"Now," said Bellatrix, her voice drowning out the yells, "I thought we were playing nice, guess I was wrong." Sarah could sense her standing near her. "And here I thought you were a bitch, guess I was right," Sarah said, for the first time she could taste the blood in her mouth. Sarah saw a flash of red; she yelled and clutched her arm where blood was pouring out of the long gash that was now present. Once again her feet went out from underneath her and she was sliding along the floor, this time she stopped in front of one of the boys, from the swelling of his face Sarah assumed that this was the one that she had hit. She saw him raise his leg and she closed her eyes. The pain was overwhelming, all she could do was curl into a tight ball and yell as fists and feet connected with her body. After what seemed like an eternity Sarah heard Bellatrix speak, "That's enough, let's go." Sarah didn't dare open her eyes, she laid there, barely breathing. She heard feet shuffling and felt robes brushing past her. Her body stiffened painfully when she felt hot breath on her ear, "Tell my cousin that this is a warning."

Sarah stayed in the middle of the corridor until she heard the footsteps disappear completely before opening her eyes. She picked up her head and looked around quickly to verify that she was indeed alone. Slowly, and painfully, she stood up, stumbling and catching herself on the wall. She rested her forehead on the cold stone and banged her fist against it, letting out a frustrated yell. Sarah hated herself for getting into this situation. She hated feeling vulnerable, what was she thinking leaving the common room without checking for her wand? Sarah felt the anger swelling up inside of her, but something else was brewing in the pit of her stomach. Fear. Sarah glanced up and down the hall and decided to start moving, she headed back the way she came, back towards the common room. She was moving slowly, limping a great deal. She knew she was out well past curfew and just wanted to get back to her bed without running into anyone else. Sarah was passing a suit of armor when she heard footsteps coming from a nearby corridor, her fear getting the best of her she took off running towards the Gryffindor tower. She stopped in front of the portrait of the fat lady, clutching her side and trying to catch her breath. The reaction of the fat lady is what triggered Sarah's anger again, the portrait looked at her in horror and maybe just a hint of pity. Sarah felt her cheeks burn, she knew she must look horrible, she could still feel her shirt sticking to her arm where the cut was. She suddenly felt ashamed, she felt the corners of her eyes start to sting, threatening tears. She mumbled the password and entered the common room, it was empty except for James, Sirius and Remus, deep down she was grateful for this but she was still too embarrassed to show it.

She crossed over to her friends, and saw that Remus was holding her wand. She stood beside him and cleared her throat, the look he gave her made her feel ten times worse than when the fat lady had looked at her. He stood up, James and Sirius followed. Remus surveyed her face, taking in every bruise and every swollen part; he opened his mouth and then closed it. He repeated this motion several times, trying to find the right words. Sarah felt her eyes water, she was on the brink of tears, they would never look at her the same now. Sarah took her wand from Remus and looked at Sirius, whose mouth was hanging open slightly. "Bellatrix says hello." And against her will a single tear ran down her cheek. She brushed past Remus and up to her bed where she pulled the curtains closed and cried herself to sleep.

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**So I know it took me forever to update, but I've been really busy lately with school about to start. I promise that I haven't forgotten about this story! I'm also leaving for vacation next week so it'll be awhile before I post any new chapters, my goal is to get one more up before I leave though.**

**Thanks to all those that reviewed! I love you guys, you're awesome:)**


	5. Timing is Everything

**Ok I'm back in action! I was stuck in the airport for a day and a half so I had time to write an entire chapter:) Enjoy.**

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In the days following her run in with Bellatrix Sarah couldn't go anywhere without being escorted by James, Sirius or Remus. Peter offered his help but knowing of his tendency to cause more harm than good, Sarah said that she could manage. It didn't take long for the story of the midnight meeting to spread throughout the school, some students sympathized with Sarah while others found it down right hilarious. Those that found it amusing didn't feel ashamed to point this out to Sarah as she passed them in the hall. They laughed and pointed, calling out random remarks, this was usually followed by Sirius threatening to hex them so bad that they'd wake up back in their first year if they kept talking. 

The event had given the house quidditch team more determination than ever to beat Slytherin. Sarah was climbing through the portrait hole after practice, Sirius in front of her and James following, when she had finally had enough. "**OK STOP!**" she said, both boys looked bewildered. "Look, I appreciate what you guys are doing, seriously, but enough is enough." She stated. James and Sirius looked at each other and then at Sarah. "I can't stand having you guys follow me everywhere. It was alright at first but now it's like I can't even open a book without your permission!" she said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Look Sarah," James began, taking a step towards her, "we just don't want to see you get hurt again." Sirius nodded and added, "Besides, it's kind of our fault." James looked away sheepishly. Sarah sighed, "First of all it's not your fault you're related to someone as cold and vile as Bellatrix." Sirius shrugged and stared at his feet. "And I think it's really sweet you guys care about me this much, but it's been a week and I think I can manage by myself now." Sarah smiled and pulled both of the boys into a hug. She released them and headed towards the stairs, calling over her shoulder, "Now, I'm going to bed, I don't suppose anything will be hiding under my bed so there's no need to check." She reached the top of the stairs when she turned to face her two friends, "James you should get some rest too if we want to kick some Slytherin ass tomorrow." James smiled, and Sarah saw the mischievous glint in his eyes that had been absent for the last week.

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Breakfast was tense, Slytherins were shouting unimaginable profanities at the Gryffindor team as they entered. Sarah walked in with her head held high. She took her place among the team and grabbed a piece of toast. James was sitting across from her, she couldn't decide whether his smile was confident or slightly arrogant today. He glanced down the table and Sarah smiled, "Is she coming to the game?" James shrugged and shouted over the noise, "OI, EVANS!" 

Lily looked up and gave a quick glare, focusing on her breakfast again. James' smile faltered and Sarah took pity on him, "Hey Lily are you coming to the game?" Lily looked up and smiled, "Oh, I haven't decided yet." James opened his mouth to say something but Sarah cut him off, "You should come, it'll be a good game. Besides, it gets you out of the stuffy common room on a beautiful Saturday morning." Lily nodded and continued eating her breakfast. Sarah picked at her toast for the remaining time she sat at the table. Pretty soon she was walking out of the Great Hall with her team. "Sarah," Lily said as she passed, "It better be a good game. I don't want to stand outside in an October chill for a loss." Sarah smiled, "Oh trust me, it'll be good." She continued walking and noticed that James' smile had returned full force.

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Flying out here, above everyone else made Sarah's mind strangely clear. The crisp air made her eyes sharp, she darted in and out of players with such an ease, many people had told her the she was a natural flyer, as if she had been born on a broomstick. She watched the chasers pass the quaffle between each other, Gryffindor had a slight lead on Slytherin; 60 – 50. She raised her bat and sent a bludger flying, hitting a Slytherin neatly in the back. Out of the corner of her eye she saw James go into a sharp dive. This was it, the end of the game, James was going to catch the snitch. Sarah was happy that the game was ending so quickly, in a short period of time it had turned into one of the dirtiest games she had ever played. Their keeper was sporting a bloody nose, one of the chasers had a black eye and not to mention Sarah's throbbing shoulder that was "mistaken" for a bludger by the opposing beater. She looked around and couldn't say that the Slytherin team was doing any better in the injury department.

Sarah heard the crowd roar with delight and she spun around to see James holding his arm above his head, the snitch struggling between his fingers. She let out a thunderous whoop and streaked toward the rest of her team. There was a loud thud from nearby and then an almost unbearable pain that started at the back of her head and shot down her spine. The ground was coming up too fast for comfort, and just as Sarah was starting to panic it dissolved into a black abyss.

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"Oh I always knew quidditch was too rough. This is why I never watched any games, people always get hurt." 

"Evans, you worry too much."

"I wasn't talking to you Sirius!"

"Why is Padfoot on first name basis and not me?"

"Because I think you're disgusting Potter."

"Padfoot's the one with a new girl every week and I'm the disgusting one?"

"Yes, you're selfish, immature, inconsiderate—"

"Don't forget self-centered." Sarah smiled and opened her eyes. The room was a little fuzzy but soon came into focus. There was a slight pounding in the back of her head that was annoying her, but other than that Sarah was happy to see her friends, although Remus was missing. "Hey whose side are you on?" James protested. Lily pushed him out of the way and embraced Sarah. "Thank goodness you're ok, I was so scared. I can't believe Sharps did that," she said heatedly. "Did what?" Sarah asked, sitting up. "Well after you guys won, Vincent Sharps, one of the Slytherin beaters, came up behind you and just swung his bat at your head," she explained. "They were right in suspending him."

Sarah listened intently as James explained, in great detail which included many wild gestures, how he had single-handedly saved her from an almost certain death. "So then I lowered you to the ground where they put you on a stretcher and whisked you off to Madame Pomfrey," he finished proudly. Sarah shook her head and looked up to see Remus standing behind Lily and Sirius. "Remus, you made it!" she exclaimed. Excited to see him she jumped out of bed and swayed violently, falling back onto it. "Slow down Sarah," Lily told her as she got under the covers again.

Sirius stepped aside and Sarah saw that Remus was holding a bouquet of white flowers. Sirius looked from the flowers to Remus then to Sarah before clearing his throat, "Hey Prongs, I think I could use some… help with… my homework." James looked bewildered, "It's Saturday Pads! We _never_ do homework on a Saturday!" Lily looked at Remus and seemed to understand something. She smiled at Sarah, "Well I promised Mary I would meet up with her, and I shouldn't keep her waiting." With that lily turned on her heel and left the room. James looked thoroughly confused but allowed Sirius to drag him out, closing the doors behind him.

"Hi," Remus said softly, pulling up a chair and laying the flowers on her bedside table. "Hi," Sarah replied, smiling and resting her head against the pillow. He ran his hands through his hair nervously and sighed. "So James and Sirius tell me that even though it made them very angry the fall was 'awesome'," Sarah told him. Remus snorted and leaned back in his chair, "More like terrifying." Sarah chuckled and took his hand, "Aw, were you worried about me Rem?" He shrugged and looked away, Sarah swore that his cheeks were slightly pink. She sighed and started rubbing her shoulder, she didn't realize how much her body ached when everyone was here.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked, squeezing her hand. Sarah looked at him, his features showed true concern. She shrugged, "My shoulder just hurts a little." He leaned forward and started hitting her pillow. When he was done with his assault Sarah was laying on a much more comfortable pillow. "Better?" he asked. Sarah smiled and nodded, "Are you going to kiss the boo-boo and make it feel better too?" Remus laughed and shook his head, "Only if you want me too."

Sarah pulled the neck of her quidditch uniform aside to expose her shoulder. She smirked and gave him a look that said: _I dare you._ A small look of disbelief passed over his face before he smiled and leaned in. Remus never refused a dare; he was a Marauder after all. Sarah held her breath as she felt his lips softly touch her shoulder. He removed them and rested his forehead against her, neither one of them moved. Sarah's heart was pounding in her chest and she was certain Remus could feel it.

Sarah's stomach did a back flip when lips touched her skin again, this time on her collarbone. There was a pause, Remus was waiting for approval. Sarah squeezed his hand gently, urging him to carry on. He continued kissing all along her collarbone and up her neck. When he reached her jaw she closed her eyes and tilted her head, giving him better access to the soft skin. He pushed his body closer to hers and Sarah noticed that the room was suddenly becoming very hot. She felt Remus' tongue slide across her skin and she sighed with content.

Lips left her skin and Sarah opened her eyes to protest, only to find Remus staring at her. He smiled and she couldn't help but smile back, "How does it feel now?" he asked, resting his forehead against hers. She tilted her head up so that their lips were barely an inch apart, "Much better," she whispered. He leaned impossibly closer and brushed his lips against hers. Just as she was about to close what little space there was between them the infirmary doors swung open.

Remus shot back to his seat out of instinct as Peter hurried across the room. He stopped beside Remus and smiled at Sarah before announcing that Professor Dumbledore wanted to speak to Remus immediately. "You have great timing Peter," Remus said sarcastically as he stood up. Peter took this as a compliment and started to lead the way out. Remus shot an apologetic look back at Sarah as he followed. Sarah just smiled and watched him go.

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**I know, I love to tease. Any who hope you guys enjoyed it, I really liked writing this chapter (I don't know why, I just did.) Please keep reviewing!**


	6. Secrets and Lies

**Ok so I typed up one more before I get too busy with school.**

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A few days after her brush with death Sarah was walking the halls of Hogwarts once again. It was just entering November and she could feel the weather slowly getting colder. She hugged her sweater closer to her body and continued walking towards her destination: the library. She had the sudden urge to read something, anything really. 

She entered the library and glanced around, various groups of students were clustered around tables with their heads together. Lily was in a corner engrossed in a book; Sarah decided it would be best not to bother her. If there was one thing she had learned about Lily it was to: **a. **Never cheat in her presence and **b. **Never interrupt her while she's reading a really good book.

She headed straight to the back of the library, she had no idea what kind of book she was looking for, she was just letting her feet follow their instincts. She weaved in and out of bookshelves, coming across a couple that was definitely not searching the shelves for books to read. She soon found herself in a corner that she had never even knew existed, and apparently no one else did either; the books in front of her were covered in a thick layer of dust.

She started cleaning off the dust with her wand, reading the titles as she went. "Flick of the Wrist: Simple Household Charms… Madame Malay's Guide to Mending Minor Injuries… Hair Scare: 101 Spells to Tame that Mane," Sarah muttered to herself. She sighed and was just about to give up searching this section when she heard muffled voices. She knew she should've left but there was something familiar about those voices.

She crept closer to the shelf and pressed her ear against the books, she definitely knew those voices. She looked around her and decided that poking her head around the corner would be too dangerous. Looking up she saw a small space that would allow a perfect view of the sources of the noise. She stacked the biggest books she could find and stood on top of them looking through the gap.

Sirius, James and Remus were all sitting at a table that had been stuffed back here in case some student had actually discovered this part of library. Although they were looking around nervously they weren't trying to keep their voices down, apparently they didn't expect anyone to find them back here. Sarah felt like a spy, well if she wanted to get technical she _was _spying on them.

"So he said that she definitely knew?" James was asking Remus, he looked almost scared. Remus nodded solemnly, Sarah had never seen him like this. James put his head on the table and let out a long sigh. Sirius ran his hands through his hair, "Well what did he do about it?" he asked. Remus shrugged, "He said that he took care of it, she wouldn't tell anyone. He just thought that I ought to know." Sarah's mind was racing, what were they talking about? It had never occurred to her that her friends might actually keep secrets from her.

Sirius slammed his fists on the table, making Sarah jump. She felt the books slip slightly under her feet, she held on to the bookshelf and quietly steadied herself. "How does he know she won't tell anyone?! She probably thinks this is the best news she's heard in her entire life!" he half-shouted. Remus gave him a stern look and glanced around the sitting area for any listeners, Sarah ducked so that she wouldn't be seen. After a few seconds of intense silence she heard James speak and decided to look up again.

"Look this is Dumbledore we're talking about," he told Sirius desperately, "if there's any person we can trust it's him. If she tells anyone about your… problem… he'll know right away." Sirius didn't look convinced but Remus looked a little more reassured. Sarah couldn't wrap her head around this, Remus had a problem and he didn't tell her about it? "C'mon let's go see where Peter got off to," James suggested and stood up. The others followed, Sirius rather irritably.

Sarah decided that it was time she got out of there, she shifted her weight to step off the pile of books when it happened. It was like slow motion, she felt the books slip from under her, then she felt her fingers lose their grip on the shelf. She was falling and the crash was going to be painful, her shoulder hit the floor and she let out a small yelp of pain. She heard footsteps and looked up to see her friends staring at her with wide eyes.

She smiled weakly and sat up, she could feel her cheeks burning. Remus extended his hand, she took it gratefully and got to her feet. "You should really be careful," he said with a smile, "Madame Pomfrey would have a heart attack if you came back so soon." She smiled and brushed off the dust on her pants. Sirius was eyeing her suspiciously, "What were you doing back here?" Sarah hesitated momentarily, "I was looking for a book and thought it would be back here. I was just walking, and you know me I don't pay attention to where I'm going, and some idiot just left this pile of books out and I completely tripped."

She was surprised at how quickly the lie rolled off of her lips. Sirius thought this over and nodded his head in acceptance. James smiled and put an arm around her shoulders, "Well then, let's get out of here and find Peter before you hurt yourself!" she allowed him to lead her away from the hidden corner and towards the exit. She looked back at Remus, who smiled at her, she smiled back, but it was a little more painful than usual.

* * *

Sarah sat in an empty classroom looking over her Defense Against the Dark Arts notes when she heard the door open behind her. She glanced up to see none other than Remus striding over to her. He was carrying a rather large book with parchment and quill in hand. "What brings you here?" she asked. 

"Professor Binns and that essay on Goblin wars," He replied and pulled up a seat next to her. "What about you?"

"I find it very difficult to concentrate on Defense Against the Dark Arts while Sirius has his fan club around," Sarah said laughing. Sarah found the easy way to avoid the giggling that erupted from the girls every two minutes was to duck inside of an empty classroom. The common room was no longer quiet when Sirius entered. Sarah was almost done studying when she felt a hand brush past her thigh. She didn't think much of it, Remus probably did it by accident. It wasn't until it happened for the fourth time that she looked up. "Why do you keep doing that?" she asked, turning to face Remus.

He gave her a mock look of innocence and said, "I'm sorry but what am I doing?"

"You keep touching my thigh, and don't deny it!" She stated. Sarah knew what game they were playing; it was one that the two of them had become masters at in the past month. There was a constant game of cat and mouse between the two of them lately, flirtatious exchanges that really pushed the envelope. Some of the words shared between them even surprised Sirius and James. Tensions were boiling under the surface and Sarah didn't know how much longer she would be able to take it.

"Well," he said facing Sarah now, "the way I see it," he placed his hand on her thigh, massaging gently, "is that I can stop," he leaned in closer and Sarah's breath hitched as she felt his hot breath against her ear, "or we can both quit playing games and get what we want." He leaned back looking thoroughly pleased with himself as Sarah contemplated what he said.

She smirked and before he had time to react Sarah grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him forward, crushing their lips together. Tongues fought each other for dominance, teeth were scraping against one another, Remus explored every inch of her mouth before the need for air was too much. They broke apart breathing heavily and both slightly flushed. The work on the table was on the floor in the blink of an eye and Remus was laying Sarah across it. Her fingers worked relentlessly on the buttons of his shirt tearing it from his skin and placing butterfly kisses down his jaw to his exposed collar bone. She bit down gently, earning a soft moan from Remus as she licked and kissed the now reddened skin.

Remus ran his hand through her hair and brought her up into a passionate kiss. He ran his hands down her arms then under her shirt, feeling the smooth expanse of her stomach. The skin to skin contact was enough to make both of them gasp. Remus attached his lips to Sarah's neck, moving down to her collarbone where he left a small dark spot. He captured her mouth again; Sarah had never felt anything this raw and passionate before.

His hands ran up her thighs, causing her to moan into his mouth. In one swift movement she reversed their positions so that she was on top. This felt so right to her, everything with Remus felt right. She had often wondered about that day in the library, she wondered what Remus' secret was. At this moment though, she had made up her mind that no matter what the secret was, she would always want to be with him.

"Stop," Remus told her as she began kissing a trail down his neck. She looked up at him and felt her heart skip a beat. She opened her mouth to tell him that if he didn't want to do this he should have told her that instead of leading her on, but he sat up and grabbed her face in his hands, kissing her gently. "This isn't exactly the safest place for this," he whispered. Sarah nodded and smiled; she had to agree, if a teacher walked in there would be no telling what kind of trouble they would be in.

She got off the desk and attempted to smooth out her skirt, not to much success. Sarah watched Remus put his shirt back on and was sad to see that beautiful body being covered up. As she was putting her papers back on the desk she felt an arm snake around her waist. She turned and found herself face to face, or rather face to chin, with Remus. He smiled at her and she couldn't help but return it. He caught her lips in sweet and gentle kiss; their tongues sought each other shyly.

"What now?" she asked, barely above a whisper. Remus shrugged and said "We go make our debut to the entire school." Sarah's face lit up and she wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him tightly. Just then the classroom door flew open. Remus and Sarah broke apart to see James and Sirius standing there. "Hey guys," Sarah said as she stooped to pick up Remus' book, "What brings you here?"

"Well," James began, "While Sirius and I were looking at our trustful little map of Hogwarts, we noticed something peculiar." They both moved forward, Sirius was wearing a look of triumph. "We noticed two dots of two very familiar people that seemed to be… well… on top of each other. And who should those two dots be other than our very own Sarah Burkett and Remus Lupin." At this Sirius made whooping noise and Remus took to straightening out his piece of parchment. James looked between Sarah and Remus as if waiting for some sort of explanation.

Sarah merely shrugged, gathered up her notes and turned to James. "Who cares what we were doing," she stated, "I'll see you on the quidditch field tonight James. Oh and Sirius I believe your fan club is waiting in the common room for you." She turned to Remus and placing a hand on his chest she gave him a kiss on the lips and whispered, "I'll see you later," before leaving. Down the hall she smiled when she heard Sirius' yell of "**IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME YOU TWO GOT TOGETHER!**"

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**Ok so what do you think? I love reviews, they're awesome:) Don't worry you'll find out who knows Remus' secret soon.**


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